The Shorthorn - Social work students seek donations for homeless shelter

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Social work students seek donations for homeless shelter

Written by Charlotte Lee, The Shorthorn staff

Wednesday, 10 March 2010 07:33 PM

Four social work students are partnering with United Way of Tarrant County to collect items for the Presbyterian Night Shelter in Fort Worth.

Boxes are located on all three floors in the Social Work Complex Building A from March 1 to March 31 to collect personal care items, linens, toiletry items and medicine for homeless people in Fort Worth.

Social work graduate students Rebecca Valles, Jessica Godin, Andrea Hall and Luixandra Colon came up with this idea for good a cause and thought this event could help promote Social Work Month.

From 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., today they are promoting the donation drive in the Social Work Complex Building A and providing cookies and information about PNS.

Godin said they chose to donate to PNS because the shelter needs help and many students have not heard of the shelter before. She added that even though the shelter gets federal money, it still needs donations.

Valles said she collects all the items from the building and brings them home. On March 31, she and her partners will donate all the items to Presbyterian Night Shelter.

The shelter serves 704 men and women on average every night.

They are the largest provider for services for the homeless in Tarrant County, and the only free emergency shelter without a length-of-stay restriction.

According to the PNS’s Web site, working to end homelessness has been the shelter’s goal since they started services 25 years ago. Through counseling and specialized programs, the homeless can re-enter mainstream society.

For example, the shelter and day-to-day operations employ 35 homeless people.

Godin said some homeless people cannot escape their situations for several reasons.

“Many of them have had family problems, some used to be criminals and their criminal record hinders them from getting a job,” she said.

Advertising sophomore Odion Eigbobo said she wished there were boxes in more areas or other buildings, so it would be easier for them to donate items.

“It would be more convenient if they put boxes in different buildings, because the social work building is at the other end of the world,” she said.

Godin said because it is their first time to do this, they want to see how it goes. If it turns out great, they may hope to do it again next semester and put boxes in more different buildings.
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